Blazing White
by Spirit of Sunlight
Summary: The clans mourned the loss of Whiteclaw when he fell into the gorge, trying to fight off Graystripe. No. Whiteclaw survived, and meets a group of new cats, who were driven out of their home by a former rogue, who, if you recall, closely supported Tigerstar. But he was chased away from the battle with BloodClan by a large group of apprentices. And he plans to return for vengeance.
1. Prologue

A dark-furred tom padded across the flat, grassy moor, his single white paw easily noticeable among the earthly colors of the ground. He padded forward, dropping into a low, unskillful crouch as he spotted a small hare a few tail-lengths away. He bunched his muscles, ready to leap onto the small creature, but his paw slipped a little, alerting his prey, causing it to bound away, large ears flat.

"Mouse-dung!" he cursed angrily, as a golden, unusually spotted, tabby she-cat padded towards him, a sympathetic look in her amber gaze as it met his blue one.

"It's no good, Whiteclaw," she mewed. "WindClan territory does not suit RiverClan cats."

"But we can't let the clan starve, Leopardfur!" the tom called Whiteclaw retorted, his long claws digging into the soft ground. "Leaf-bare is almost here, and the river will freeze over. The fish won't be enough for us, and now, Bluestar wants WindClan back, so we will starve!"

"You're quite right, Whiteclaw," a beautiful silver tabby she-cat mews. "But it can't be the will of StarClan for one clan to die out from starvation." A small, dark gray she-cat pads to Leopardfur's side, accompanied by a thick-furred, fluffy, pale gray tom with a torn ear.

"Stonefur, we won't let the clan starve, will we?" the small she-cat asked.

"Of course we won't," Stonefur replied, though the hesitation and uncertainty in his voice told his apprentice otherwise.

"RiverClan will make it through this leaf-bare," Leopardfur promised; she was the deputy, an outstandingly intelligent and courageous she-cat. Whiteclaw felt that Crookedstar, the leader, had chosen well when he named the golden, spotted tabby as his deputy. "But for now, let's go back to our territory. Shadepaw, take your rabbit with you."

The small she-cat seemed to glow with pride as she picked up the scrawny hare she had caught; it was the only thing any cat had caught on this patrol.

Whiteclaw shook out his dark fur as he padded across the faint scent marking that used to be the border between RiverClan and WindClan, or, what was left of it. Brokenstar had driven WindClan out of their home, but now, he himself had been driven out of the clans with his followers, and were living in exile. Thus, ThunderClan thought it right to send two cats, Fireheart and Graystripe, to bring WindClan home.

Which would weaken RiverClan, as they were trying to feed their clan with some of WindClan's prey.

Whiteclaw breathed out a sigh as he felt his paws touch the softer, damper ground of his own territory. WindClan was too open for his liking, and he would anyday prefer to be in his own reed nest in the warriors' den.

Leopardfur flicked her tail for them to follow. "We're near the ThunderClan border, so let's check that as well?"

Whiteclaw dipped his head to his former mentor. Silverstream fell in beside him as Stonefur and Shadepaw padded ahead with Leopardstar. Whiteclaw's voice was teasing as he turned to the beautiful silver tabby and padded alongside the gorge. "So, has any special tom caught your eye?"

Silverstream purred in amusement and flicked her tail under Whiteclaw's nose. "Of course not. You?" She froze for a heartbeat as Whiteclaw's blue eyes clouded over in loss and pain. "I mean, uh, never mind."

Whiteclaw was remembering Rainnose, a pretty silver-white she-cat with clear amber eyes. She had died a young warrior, the very day that she had confessed her love for Whiteclaw to him. And he had returned her love heartbeats before she died in a battle. "Doesn't matter," Whiteclaw mumbled, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.

"No, I'm sorry." Silverstream laid her tail across his shoulders, then pulled away as they padded toward the ThunderClan border, that was just beyond a small stream and a clump of reeds.

Whiteclaw shrugged and picked up a new scent. "Loudbelly? Why are you here?"

"I was hunting," the dark brown tom mewed. "Then I found you... where are you going?"

"We're patrolling the ThunderClan border," Silverstream mewed.

But what was the ThunderClan scent so near the gorge? Whiteclaw broke away from Silverstream to sniff the area near the gorge, his ears pricked in alarm. "Leopardfur! ThunderClan is in our territory!"

Leopardfur nodded, sniffing the air. "But... is that _WindClan_ with them?"

The RiverClan patrol's eyes widened as they spotted a group of cats heading alongside the gorge, toward ThunderClan territory. Whiteclaw recognized Fireheart and Graystripe, as well as the WindClan deputy Deadfoot. And there was a fourth he didn't quite recognize. But what were they doing here?

"Fireheart, Deadfoot, Graystripe, Onewhisker." Leopardfur's mew was cold. "Why are you in RiverClan territory?"

Fireheart, a flaming ginger tom, looked uncomfortable. "We brought WindClan back, and we wish to travel back to our clan. Deadfoot is escorting us."

"Still, you could have gone the other way," Leopardfur retorted, in a low growl. "You're tresspassing." With a yowl, she hurtled toward them, screeching a signal that was a threat in any language. She rammed into Deadfoot, bowling him over, and heartbeats later, Whiteclaw felt himself stumble as the light mottled tabby, Onewhisker, sprang onto him.

Whiteclaw let out a hiss and rolled over, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Loudbelly wrestling with Fireheart.

Onewhisker screeched as Whiteclaw clawed his ears, then his flanks, taking a shallow blow to his chest. Whiteclaw bit Onewhisker's tail and spat as the WindClan warrior sprang to his paws and turned away.

And then, there was a series of yowls. Looking up, he spotted the ThunderClan cats, Tigerclaw, Whitestorm, and Sandpaw, bounding toward them. _Now, we're outnumbered,_ he realized, panicking a little, as Tigerclaw bounded toward him. Whiteclaw dodged as the massive dark brown tabby sprang, but the ThunderClan deputy didn't miss the top of his ear.

Whiteclaw yowled and scrabbled at Tigerclaw's belly with his hind claws, but the ThunderClan warrior was older and larger, as well as more experienced. Tigerclaw scored deep claw-marks on his flanks and belly, making Whiteclaw wince in pain. As the ThunderClan tom bit down on his tail, he jumped to his paws and raced away from Tigerclaw, though not away from the battle.

Whiteclaw gasped as he spotted Shadepaw rolling past him, locked in battle with Sandpaw. But for a few long heartbeats, he could do nothing as the two apprentices rolled toward the gorge.

Then he sprang toward them in long strides, but Fireheart, breaking away from Loudbelly, was faster. The ginger tom raced toward them, sending them rolling in the opposite direction with one long swipe. Whiteclaw watched as the pale ginger apprentice, Sandpaw, spat something at Fireheart before disappearing into the thick of battle.

And then, Graystripe slammed into him.

Whiteclaw swiped at him, but missed as Graystripe ducked. The thick-furred gray tom pinned him to the ground, but sprang off as Whiteclaw scored his claws across Graystripe's face. The two of them rolled, locked in battle, as Whiteclaw met Graystripe's swipes with his.

And then, the ground disappeared from under his paws.

The next thing he knew, Graystripe's blue eyes had widened, and the ThunderClan tom was bending toward him as he scrabbled for a stronger pawhold on the solid ground above him. Graystripe's jaws tried to fasten on his paw, but not in time.

Whiteclaw's paws broke off, and he heard Leopardfur's yowl. "Whiteclaw! No!"

And then, he felt himself falling down into blackness.


	2. Chapter 1

Down.

Whiteclaw felt the wind whip against his face as he fell. The air around him grew colder and stronger, and he was falling so fast he found it hard to breathe.

 _I'm going to die._

The very thought made Whiteclaw's fur bristle.

And he shivered.

Not just with cold, but also, with fear, at what he would find.

Whiteclaw let out a scream, closing his blue eyes, not wanting to look down at the rapid water below. But, it seemed he had no choice, as the water seemed to grow larger and closer, until he was completely submerged.

 _I'm a RiverClan cat. I can swim,_ he told himself, then pulled himself, spluttering, to the surface. The water surrounded him on all sides, and it followed a path that seemed to never end. At least, he couldn't see where the water ended. Whiteclaw coughed, kicking furiously against the water.

The current carried him in the opposite direction, however.

 _If I swim, where would I swim to, anyway?_ Whiteclaw asked himself silently, and not even StarClan could tell him the answer to his question. Whiteclaw drew in a breath before he went under again, and his paws fell limp with exhaustion. His head bobbed up again, then went down, his blue eyes closed.

The water didn't seem like that of the river; it was darker, almost black in color, and deeper than the river. And the water of the river was cool, clean, and fresh. But this... this was slimy and ice-cold, and it didn't taste like the water from the river, either.

Whiteclaw shrieked for help, and water flooded his mouth, cutting him off as he went under again.

And then, a large, hulking shape appeared in the water. Whiteclaw realized it would be too much to hope that it was another cat. And in the rays of the sunlight, Whiteclaw realized that it was a boulder, that grew closer with every heartbeat. _Great. If I don't drown, I'll be smashed to pieces by a rock instead._

Whiteclaw called out again, thrashing frantically, but then, his head hit the boulder, and everything went black.

* * *

"Good, I think he'll be fine." Whiteclaw struggled to open his eyes, but exhaustion was overwhelming him.

"Rainnose?" he mumbled, and there was no reply.

But for a heartbeat, Whiteclaw thought he saw the faintest outline of a beautiful, elegant, young silver-and-white she-cat standing beside him, watching over him. And then, she was gone, just like that.

And Whiteclaw realized he must have been imagining it, as his eyes weren't even open yet.

Whiteclaw felt strong paws drag him across grass, and he opened his bright blue eyes to see four unfamiliar cats standing over him. And then, he remembered. He had nearly drowned, but it seemed like he had survived, yet again.

And maybe surviving wasn't so wonderful as it had once seemed.

And there was a dull pain in his head, where he had struck the rock. He coughed.

His vision was still blurred, but he could make out two toms and two she-cats.

He closed his eyes again, and Whiteclaw felt something propel him to a sitting position, and, to his surprise, water gushed out of his jaws, and he coughed again, shivering at his sodden fur. He opened his eyes again, and this time, his vision cleared, to reveal four anxious cats standing over him. And one more padded over to join them.

"W-who are you?" he stammered, painfully pushing himself to his paws.

"Lie down," one of the toms ordered, though his voice was kind. "We found you, half-dead, in the stream."

Whiteclaw blinked, obeying. "Thank you." He realized that there were three toms and two she-cats, and all of them shared the same expression: worry. A pure white she-cat swept her tail over his flank, while the silver-gray tom who had spoken nodded calmly.

"You'll survive," a dark red she-cat mewed, and a black tom nodded.

"Where do you come from? And where am I?" Whiteclaw managed, then paused. "Who _are_ you all?"

The silver-gray tom flicked his tail thoughtfully, and a light brown tabby tom stepped forward to speak. "We live together." _And that tells me a lot,_ Whiteclaw thought, though he didn't say it aloud. There was a pause before the light brown tabby spoke again. "In the next clearing. My name is Dust."

The silver-gray tom nodded. "Light."

"I'm Frost," the white she-cat mewed, and Whiteclaw's gaze lingered on her for a long while, until the next cat spoke.

"My name's Russet," the red she-cat stated.

"And I'm Wind." A gray tom who had been silent so far dipped his head to Whiteclaw.

Whiteclaw's tail-tip twitched. "Thanks for helping me, back there," he murmured, a little uncomfortable under all those curious stares that scorched his dark fur, making him feel as though he were burning on the inside of him. He swallowed.

"And you are..." Russet mewed, with the faintest tinge of annoyance in her voice.

Whiteclaw shifted his weight. "My name is Whiteclaw." The effect of that simple sentence was immediate. Russet stumbled back, into Dust, while Light's jaws opened in a silent wail of terror. Whiteclaw narrowed his eyes, confused at this behavior. "What-"

"You're a clan cat!" Wind gasped, his voice choked with disbelief.

Whiteclaw twitched his tail. "Yeah... so?"

"The clans... a clan cat drove us out of our former home!" Frost mewed, her fur bristling.

"And who was that cat?" Whiteclaw asked.

Frost exchanged a glance with her companions, and no one said anything. Whiteclaw's eyes narrowed in frustration, as he glanced from one cat to the next, waiting for a reply. Maybe this cat was still living, and maybe he would bring down the clans.

Whiteclaw shivered at the very thought.

Frost padded toward him, her head bowed. "It was a rogue, really... who said he would join the clans. But there was the scent of one particular clan cat... it seemed like he was meeting with just that one cat. And once, we saw a tuft of dark tabby fur on his pelt."

"Who was it?" Whiteclaw mewed.

She leaned in toward him.

And when she spoke, her voice was no more than a whisper.

"Snag."


End file.
